IN THE COMMUNITY

Katerina and Sasha's Story

Published on: Feb 01, 2017

I insured my new puppy right away with pet health insurance to avoid ever having to deal with the cost factor should anything ever happen to him. He's my pride and joy and I find it truly amazing how dogs can bring so much happiness into my life!

Katerina - Petsecure Insurance Advisor

"My family dog Sasha was my best friend growing up. My mom had found a standard poodle breeder in Alberta and flew her in to Manitoba to join our family, but I didn’t care where she came from. I was getting a puppy! A friend. It was the best day. I’m an only child and was bullied quite a bit in high school, but coming home to her was always the best part of my day.

When Sasha was five years old, we were watching TV one night and she was lying in her spot on the rug at our feet as she usually did. Suddenly, we noticed her stomach was quite bloated and she had white foam just pouring out of her mouth. We called the vet and they told us to rush her to emergency. When we got there in a panic, we couldn’t even lift her out of the backseat of the car because she was in so much pain, but the staff was able to help us. It turns out that she was experiencing gastric torsion (bloat), which is common in standard poodles but we were unaware of the illness.

They told us in order to make her better, she would require surgery to put her stomach back into place and suggested they staple her stomach to the stomach wall so it couldn't happen a second time. They told us it would cost $4,000, and if they didn’t start within the next half hour, she would be dead.

Shocked with this information, we all immediately started crying. My parents were upset that they’d have to come up with the money, and I was upset that I could possibly be losing someone who was so special to me. I begged my parents to get them to operate. I told them I would work three after-school jobs to help pay them back. I’d do anything to save my dear friend.

They agreed she was a member of the family and still considered young at the time and this would not be her time to go. We did the surgery! The staff at both hospitals she stayed at were great with her and let us visit after her operation whenever we wanted.

She recovered very well and even now many years later as a senior pet she can still run out in my parent’s backyard and chase the squirrels all afternoon with ease. Now that I’ve moved out, my boyfriend and I just got ourselves our own addition to the family. His name is Cooper and he is a 10-week-old goldendoodle. I insured him right away with pet health insurance to avoid ever having to deal with the cost factor should anything ever happen to him. He's my pride and joy and I find it truly amazing how dogs can bring so much happiness into my life!"

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